The Yin-yang effect Maybe
by EbonyAlchemist
Summary: Naruto and Shikamaru are on one side of an invisible yet solid border. Temari and Hinata are on the other. A kitten in the center?


Fandom: Naruto

Shipping: some implied NaruHina, ShikaTema

Summary: This story indicates that even enemies can become friends. Naruto and Shikamaru are on one side of an invisible yet solid border. Temari and Hinata are on the other. A kitten in the center?

Notes: Usual and generic disclaimers apply. This is my entry for the Fandom Games fanfiction contest. Genre is Humor, Setting is a random forest, and all the characters are cats.

The morning sun was a silver, outlying circle that beamed down on the forest of Golden Refuge. The sky was a dull gray; clouds released great quantities of rain, nurturing the trees that coated the land with healthy green and fueling the roaring river that rushed through the forest like a herd of wild horses, never seeming to stop, yet always in the same place. Water fell in fat droplets that spattered the ground and stung Naruto's nose. Water ran down his slick orange and black fur like tears but he was too focused on marking an oak tree to notice. He sniffed around the trunk, making sure his scent was traceable before moving on to the next one.

"Naruto, let's move up further." Naruto looked around at his partner Shikamaru. Shikamaru was a slightly bigger cat, with a brown coat and tan underside. A tuft of black hair dipped low on his forehead. They were carrying out their daily check around the borders of their homeland. They were to mark across the border and keep an eye on any intruders until a superior relieved them. Four hours had passed since they left, and they were almost finished.

"Did you get anything Naruto?" The feline leaned against the trunk of his own tree, scratching his pelt, and looked back up at him. Naruto shook himself thoroughly and shook his head.

"Nothing. Those Dakuenjeru are behaving themselves for once." The Dakuenjeru were rival cats across the border. The leader, Alpha Orochimaru, was on civil terms with their own head Alpha Tsunade, but they cut ties for various reasons.

Naruto heard a slight sighing sound and his ears pricked upwards. Shikamaru's ears flicked forward towards a rustling bush and he tensed. His feet made no sound against the soggy leaves as he crept towards it. There was another rustle, then a snowy white tail tip poked out.

"It's a Dakuenjeru kit," he concluded as he lifted a branch to reveal a sleeping baby cat. She was curled up, asleep in a circle of dead moss. Her back rose and fell with the thrum of the rain, her silvery gray fur plastered to her quivering skin.

Shikamaru sniffed it. Her scent smelled familiar…

"What's she doing here? They know the penalty for crossing borders!" Naruto's hackles rose and his eyes darted to and fro. It was a kid, the mother couldn't be far.

"I don't know, Naruto. Her mother must have lost her along the bridge… We'll have to wait there and see if someone comes to take her home."

"Shikamaru, don't be ridiculous! Every time _we're_ seen on the border they're gnashing their teeth as if we were hunting on their land!"

"This is different. We're older and know to stay on our side. _She_ doesn't know any better and was probably abandoned."

"_She's_ one of _them_!" Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at Naruto. What had gotten into him?

"Have you forgotten you weren't born into the forest? You were a house pet, raised here because our leader doesn't discriminate against others."

"Tsunade's a kind alpha, so?"

"_So,_ don't you think you're being a bit unfair?"

"Nnnnnn…..o?" Shikamaru shot him a look.

"Okay, okay whatever."

"Chill, she's a kid, okay?" Naruto reluctantly nodded.

"…." He looked over to the sleeping kitten, noting she was barely older than Konohamaru was. Her face was calm, not a muscle twitching around it. She shifted in her sleep and sighed.

Well, maybe she wasn't as bad as he made her out to be… No! Naruto shook his head abruptly. He was _not_ going soft! He snorted and turned away. Shikamaru had the disturbing feeling Naruto hadn't exactly gotten the concept behind his reasoning… He nudged the slumbering kitten with his paw.

"Hey, kid. Wake up." Sleepy eyes forced themselves open and she looked up at Shikamaru. Her ears flattened against her head and she backed away, whimpering.

"Where is your mother?" Shikamaru asked gently. She little female got to her paws and pressed her back against the bush. An amused Naruto lay on his orange haunches, black paws crossed.

"She can't speak Shikamaru, she doesn't know any better." Shikamaru growled warningly at him before turning back to the kit.

"Can you tell me your name?" She simply gazed up at him fearfully. Naruto chuckled and got to his feet, deciding to give it a try. He dropped his front legs in front of her and lowered his head, rolling onto his back and she copied him, tail up and waving like a flag. He allowed her to chase him to the river where a bridge was cut in half in the center. A rope was woven through the gap to grant passage to the other side. It was yet another border that separated the two cats and kitten from the Dakuenjeru clan.

"Now what?" Naruto asked Shikamaru. Shikamaru relaxed under a low growing tree.

"We wait."

_**An hour later…**_

The rain had stopped, but the sky was still cloudy and a mist had dropped. Naruto lay on his back, his tail casually wandering along the ground like a snake searching for water. The little kitten saw it as an easy bit of prey. She crouched and stalked it was quietly as she could, advancing on the black tipped tail. She pounced and Naruto yelped in surprising pain as the little thing sunk her teeth into his tail. He flicked it, signaling her to let go. She mewled mischievously and ran circles around him, jumping over his abdomen and sliding in the mud. Naruto snarled at Shikamaru and shot him an annoyed '_Your turn to babysit_,' look. Shikamaru opened one eye and closed it, clearly stating he wasn't doing any babysitting today. A low haunting howl set Shikamaru on edge. Naruto's hackles rose as two shadows appeared through the trees on the other side. The wreath-like mist made their eyes glow a greenish yellow.

"Easy Naruto," Shikamaru muttered. He approached the border as two Dakuenjeru clan cats advanced. One female was powerfully built. She was light and cream colored, and her eyes were an olive green color. Shikamaru recognized her as Temari. They'd met in battle a few times before. The other was a female with bluish purple fur, and a slender build. Her eyes were a light lavender, matching her chest and underbelly. Hinata. Naruto saw her as the most pleasant of the two. She was quiet and friendly, Temari was short tempered and sarcastic. Figures.

Both had their ears flat against their heads, but their claws were sheathed so Shikamaru didn't think much of it. They stopped in front of Shikamaru, Temari sizing him up before deciding he wasn't a threat. Hinata nodded a brisk hello to Naruto before ducking her head shyly. Naruto blinked. Did she just…. Temari spoke, her voice a calm growl.

"We're looking for something of ours, we believe it wandered somewhere around here?" Naruto picked up the kit and set her down on the bridge in front of him.

"You mean this fuzz ball we found sleeping under a bush?"

"Hinata!" an excited flurry of paws and tail squealed happily and pranced over to the small female.

"She speaks!" Shikamaru exclaimed sarcastically. Temari warningly bared her teeth at Shikamaru. Hinata nuzzled the little one affectionately.

"There you are," she murmured quietly. "Why did you run off so far? Something awful could have happened to you." She gently scolded her, ignoring the little one's protests and nudging her to the other side of the river where she proceeded to lick her clean. Temari was about to follow them, when she turned around and glared at the two.

"Thank you," she ground out. It was apparent she wasn't used to receiving help from others. Shikamaru found this funny.

"You have a way of saying thank you that sets my hair on end." Temari smirked.

"Get used to it." Naruto eyed Shikamaru suspiciously. He watched Temari's tail disappear into the bushes before turning around and almost running smack into Naruto's nose.

"Did you run head first into a tree?! Why are you right behind me?"

"What was that?!" Naruto demanded.

"What was what?" Shikamaru replied artlessly.

"Don't play obvious with me! You like her don't you!"

"Obvious!" Shilamaru scoffed. "Titanic," he gestured to Hinata. "Meet iceberg!"

Naruto hissed at Shikamaru before slinking into the dark. Who was he to judge? Hinata was nice, and stayed on her side silently. Temari was horrible and did whatever she wanted within rules. She couldn't possibly be that bad…could she?


End file.
